Buy the timeshare, get 150K starpoints as a bonus!
 

Hi,

it is simple, buy a Platinum season two bedroom villa at the Westin mission hills and get 150K *points as a sales incentive. Should I go for it ?
Would you pay $27K + 1K per year to stay in a Starwood VO property one week per year, maybe two weeks in the off-season ?

Offer not available over the regular sales line! e-mail me if interested, I can refer you! I do not benefit from doing so!

also you get SPG gold level membership basically as long as you own the timeshare, no real benefit for a platinum preferred guest. Should I ask for an upgrade to VIP level http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif ???

If you are seriously considering this, you may want to look into some aftermarket timeshare sales. You can usually get the same timeshare for 50-70% of the original price.

Also, $27k invested will likely give you a return that (+$1000) will allow you to stay for a week at most properties. Even if you got just a 5% return on your $27k, that would be $1350/year. That plus the $1000 that you would have been spending on maintainance fees for the timeshare will get you a nice week many places. Plus you'll get stay credit towards plat.

[This message has been edited by johnep1 (edited 10-15-2003).]

and you are not stuck at the same property always. i mean if you wanted to go somewhere where there isn't a SVO property, you have that option with money.

And if you really want to know about buying timeshares, go to www.tug2.net It is to timeshares what Flyertalk is to flying.

You most likely won't get the 150,000 Starwood points by buying resale, but if you save $10,000, you come out ahead.

Edited to correct link to TUG.
------------------
Pat

[This message has been edited by Pat H (edited 10-17-2003).]

Should be www.tug2.net (original post had a period in the link).

Being a HGVC & SVO owner myself, let me key in my 2 cents.

I am only putting down facts and figures. Actual purchase should be dependent upon the requirement and lifestyle of the buyer.

Like SDO, 1 Platinum Week ownership in 2Br at Westin Mission Hills is 148,100 Staroptions or approx 78-92K starpoints. ( Can be only converted EOY )

Here is how I would use the points.

Platinum Season
1. 1 Br Sheraton Myrtle Beach 6 Nights : 29K
2. 1 Br Westin Ka'anapali 6 Nights : 67.5K
3. 1 Br HarborSide @ Atlantis Bahamas 6 Nights: 54K

OR

1. 1 Br Sheraton Desert Oasis 6 Nights 29K
2. 1 Br Sheraton Vistana Resort 6 Nights 29K
3. 1 Br Westin St John USVI 6 Nights 41K
4. 1 Br Sheraton Myrtle Beach 6 Nights : 20K
5. 1 Br HarborSide @ Atlantis Bahamas 6 Nights: 35K

Unlike HH or SPG points, these redemption levels are cast in stone. They cannot be changed. Period. By an extremely conservative estimate, the average night at these resorts would be $150 for a 1Br in mid season and $250+ in the peak season. Based on SPG redemptions, you are looking at Cat 4+ properties.

Based on money terms,

3 Six night Stays Prime Season = 18*250 = 4500
5 Six night Stays Mid Season = 30*150 = 4500 with another 80K Starpoints or 100K miles.

In the resale market, this property can be had for 15-17K. WIth a $750 maintenance fee, You are then takling about a return of approx.

$4500 -$750(maintenance) = $3,750/$15,000 or 25%

The hotels and resorts used in this example are SVO properties only. The week can be traded within Interval International for resorts owned by Four Seasons, Hyatt & Marriott to name a few.


All I'm saying is that hotel timeshares, if used properly, can save you a bundle over your lifetime. Again, actual purchase should be dependent upon the requirement and lifestyle of the buyer.




[This message has been edited by Bourne (edited 10-16-2003).]

Can you really get 5 six-night stays plus 80,000 starpoints a year with this program? That's seems like a good deal.

You can get the 5 stays OR 80,000 Starpoints in a particular year. If you don't want to use the Staroptions (which gets you the stays at the resorts as above) you can convert your timeshare into Starpoints. We bought at Ka'anapali and are looking forward to exactly the flexibility as discussed. Some years we'll convert to Starpoints, some years go to Maui and some other years convert to Staroptions and stay at the other timeshare properties. And if we choose, some years we can rent our resort at Maui and have a little extra cash after paying the maintenance fees. A great deal for us.

Based on money terms,

3 Six night Stays Prime Season = 18*250 = 4500
5 Six night Stays Mid Season = 30*150 = 4500 with another 80K Starpoints or 100K miles.

In the resale market, this property can be had for 15-17K. WIth a $750 maintenance fee, You are then takling about a return of approx.

$4500 -$750(maintenance) = $3,750/$15,000 or 25%

Bourne, from what I've read on TUG, the resale market may not always include the Starpoints conversion privlege though so the buyer should really check on that beforehand. That may be a benefit only offered when purchasing directly from the Developer. I think resale purchase would include the StarOptions trades because that is within the Starwood Vacation Program.

My bad. What I meant was that if you are willing to travel in the mid season, you can use 5 weeks over two years by using one year Staroption quota and converting the other year's Staroptions into 80K starpoints.

Unlike HGVC, SVO only allows Every Other Year(EOY) conversion to Starpoints.

cfigoni,
You are right. That was the main reason why we went with HGVC in the first place. Now, some of the resorts allow you to join the club with a resale unit thus allowing StarOption to Starpoint conversion.

Incase you are interested...http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/008657.html

Here are a few links to our best redemptions.

HGVC Hawaii
Four Seasons Avaria
Westin Resort and Spa Whistler For more details check www.westin.com
Sheraton Desert Oasis
HGVC Seaworld Orlando
HGVC Flamingo Las Vegas

Other notable additions are the Sapphire Beach Club, St Maarten & Shell Island Club, Sanibel FL. Though they are 5* or GC resorts, they were a notch below the ones mentioned above.



[This message has been edited by Bourne (edited 10-16-2003).]

We purchased at the Westing Mission Hills back in May. We received a 125 K Point bonus. (Worth roughly $3000.)

There really isn't any logical financial justification for doing this, but my wife loved the idea of prepaying for something that would "force" us to take a week or two each year and stay in a nice (relaxing) environment. I think the Heavenly Beds really sold my wife. (I personally like to camp!).

I think it is really a lifestyle choice...rather than a real "financial" decision. I have always had a difficult time going out and paying $200 - $300 night for a hotel room. With the Starwood program, I have just hidden that expense in the opportunity cost of capital from the $27 K we plunked down. (It's a sunk cost now ... really don't miss it)... and hopefully we will get lots of dividends over the years.

I do like being able to get multiple weeks during the shoulder seasons in some very nice resort locations using the single-bedroom option. My wife and I are young... so hopefully we will get many years of enjoyment.

The other option is to pass on using the unit for a given week and sell it or give it to friends and relatives.

Anyway, again, I can not really financially justify this program. I would not finance it, and I would not buy it if I missed the money. Again, it is a "lifestyle" decison.

Good Luck.

If you can't get the staroptions points when buying resale, does that mean that you can only use your one week at the home resort and cannot stay at other starwoods?

There are two separate means of using your home property in other ways:

First, there are StarOptions: ownership of a timeshare equates to a certain number of these based on size, location and season. You can use these StarOptions within the Starwood Vacation Network (SVN) to trade for other SVN properties directly without going through II.

Then there are Starpoints which are used in the larger Starwood group for hotel stays, airline tickets, and various other items like rental cars.

You want to ask 1) does the resale give you StarOptions and membership in the SVN so that you can trade directly; and 2) does the resale give you the ability to trade your unit for Starpoints if you want - usually this is only available every other year.

But if you buy into some of the resorts in the resale market, you do not get the staroption points. If that is the case, then you also wouldn't be able to convert staroptions to starpoints.

Some resorts do not allow you to buy into staroptions if you buy resale.

[This message has been edited by johnep1 (edited 10-17-2003).]